After 36 years I became an American citizen — H4J!
Thoughts on what it means to be American and why it’s all about community
As I was sitting last summer attentively waiting in the star-spangled-banner decorated room for Officer D. to start the ceremony and become a US citizen, I was thinking of the summer of 1982, when I sat on the freshly paved seashore promenade of Tel Aviv gazing at the Mediterranean Sea, summarizing my state of bliss by sighing: “… kmo America…” (Hebrew: like America).
I spent the next 18 years in the shadow of the Lebanon war, seeing battle, losing friends, finishing medical school and then building a family and career in Geneva, Switzerland, the “Peace Capital”. Yet despite the serenity and comfort Lac Leman provided, it was not “kmo America” and when I was offered to head the first pain center in the world at the University of Washington in Seattle, I saw it not only as the zenith of my career, but as a divine call.
So on April Fools 2008, I finally arrived to fulfill the ‘America’ dream.
Back at the ceremony, as I was holding my wife’s hand and gazing at my 12 year-old soon-to-be-American daughter ( — we were separated and she wasn’t allowed to sit with us — ), I couldn’t help thinking what a glorious day this is. And with another 101 citizens form 33 countries, some dressed in colorful Dashikis, others in whole-body black Niqābs and suits with coordinated red-white-and-blue ties, we all waited to take the Oath of Allegiance.
But this was not the first time I was naturalized.
Back in Geneva when I became a Swiss citizen, I remember how my interviewer, Monsieur Morel came to our house not just to inspect the kitchen, but also to get a sense of who I am and why I wanted to become Swiss.
He asked me what local wine do I prefer, what is the difference between a cheese fondue from Fribourg and Vaud and what is my favorite historical city site? We conversed about the light, crisp flavor of the Chasselas wine, agreed that moitié-moitié, half Gruyere and Vacherin cheese, is the best fondue and that the 110 year-old Reformation Wall is not only a truly remarkable architectural feat, but encapsulates the spirit of Cité de Calvin.
In NYC on the other hand, after the airport security-style screening entrance at the Javitz Federal Building, Officer B. courteous and to the point asked me different kind of questions. In her 7th floor bare office, she wanted to know if I am a terrorist, communist, polygamist, gambler, prostitute, or if I trafficked in illegal substances.
And as I answered under oath courtly to each statement “no ma’am”, I was wondering if I should interrupt and show her the letters of recommendation I brought from Senator Rockefeller, Congresswoman Bono and Generals Chiarelli, Schoomaker, Thomas and Volpe, all thanking me for my work in trying to help curb the opioid epidemic.
But I just repeated: “no ma’am”.
Back in the decorated ceremony room a short video showed Secretary Madeleine Albright, speaking of how only in America an 11 year-old refugee fleeing the Nazis could become the first woman Secretary of State and prompted my teary-eyed 12 year-old to aspire the same. I smiled at her knowing now she is protected by the Constitution from gender discrimination, travel bans and cyber-bullies, free to protest against grotesque tweets and hateful speech.
But I still wished Officer B. would ask me how I would protect the vulnerable, assure the voiceless have a voice or if I plan to run for office. I would tell her about how we are changing the world at CryptoOracle, that my wife loves her job and that my daughter is now Mandarin-fluent and being taught how to be a world citizen-of-tomorrow.
And as Supervisor H. read the Oath of Allegiance asking me to “renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign sovereignty” I was thinking we really should change the interview format. Maybe like in Switzerland, encourage officers to come, visit and break bread with applicants. Get to know us, create a personal allegiance that impedes radicalism, tames extremism and promotes loyalty.
I grew up in a country in perpetual war, I lived in a country in perpetual peace and now I am admitted into a new family that I am committed to its health, prosperity and safety. I read the constitution and yes, it is a great document.
But for the constitution to succeed, we need to offer our allegiance, our alliance, our compassion and kindness to the Other, not just with each other.
I know that that’s what I am going to do as an American, finally after 36 years.
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